A study of knowledge about food allergies among high school students in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Background: Limited information is available regarding food allergy knowledge in Mongolia. Therefore, this study was conducted to evaluate high school students' knowledge of food allergies and to determine whether significant knowledge gaps exist.  Objective: To assess the level of knowledge regarding food allergies among high school students in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.  Methods: This cross-sectional questionnaire-based study included 173 high school students in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Participants completed a survey assessing their knowledge of food-allergy causes, symptoms, reaction timing, major allergens, and cross-contamination risks. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics version 22. Results: 50.6% of respondents said that food allergy symptoms appear immediately or within a few hours after consuming the food, while 37.2% said they appear after 24 hours. 4.1% said after 36 hours and 8.1% after 48 hours. 62.8% of the participants answered that food allergy affects the skin, while 30.2% correctly understood that it can affect all organs, including the respiratory tract and the skin. On the other hand, 7% of those who believed it would affect only the respiratory tract indicates that the knowledge about this is relatively low. 59.3% of the respondents said that trans fatty acids are the most harmful to people with food allergies, followed by fats (18.0%), proteins (15.1%), and carbohydrates (7.6%).  Conclusions: In general, the respondents were knowledgeable about food allergies and had basic knowledge about food allergy reactions. Furthermore, this result also established that improved education and training for the respondents are crucial to provide better food allergy information. Therefore, this study provides a basis for future research in related areas. Keywords: knowledge, adolescents, allergy awareness.